


The (Private) Eyes of the Mind

by landofspaceandrainbows (cereus)



Series: Murderstuck Meta [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternian Empire, Case Fic, Corruption, Detective Noir, Detectives, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Meta, Police Brutality, Torture, murderstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28237764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cereus/pseuds/landofspaceandrainbows
Summary: Or “Murderstuck”, Terezi, and, Corrupt Cops (and Gamzee and a Corrupt Church)
Series: Murderstuck Meta [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068566
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020, March Meta Matters Challenge





	The (Private) Eyes of the Mind

Warning: this talks abought some rougher than usual subject material so tw: for torture and corrupt police systems.

....

So I’ve been reading a bunch of tumblrs lately, and noticing there’s a lot of stuff in Terezi’s arc that is very familiar from [https://scripttorture.tumblr.com/](https://tmblr.co/mQXaP2sk-iXYj_O0zQHyHQw)

Especially the idea and pattern of “de skilling”  
  
One of the big things about how torture works in police organizations is the de-skilling - they loose the skills to actually investigate things because you can “solve crimes” by just torturing someone for a confession, and then the de-skilling makes them more likely to turn to torture again  
  
The legal system in Alternia is Not OK in general, and Alternian cops / law in general follows the pattern of torture happy cops  
  


Starting out in her first scene Terezi fits the pattern of youth who idolize torture cops, in large part because she is obsessed with and passionate about justice and this is the only option she has in front of her.  
  
In fact you can see this in the very first scene where you meet her, especially with her acting out the interrogation in roleplay with her plushies - which mimics techniques such as applying psychological pressure, not leaving marks, etc.  
  
[https://www.homestuck.com/story/2037](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.homestuck.com%2Fstory%2F2037&t=Y2ZiNjYxYTM2OTY3ZmRmZGVjMDUzNjdjYWM3Yjg0N2ZmNzljY2Y1Yiw3YXdnMURmNw%3D%3D&b=t%3AwkFpyAvtoLfjAa5Mfw6lLA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fthelandoflittlecubesandtea.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F634240390505119744%2Fterezi-investigator-of-mind&m=0&ts=1608629709)  
  
Which in part is why there’s this connection with Terezi there as a hero of mind.

.... because of her mental passions, she’s basically started bringing the skill back through her own experimentation! Mind = the ability to look for evidence and also understand people’s minds and motivations. All things that come in handy if you;'re actually trying to be an investigator, which she uses even in times she doesn't have to. Because really .... she’s not all that satisfied with the way things are.

We also don’t know how it would have been if she stayed on Alternia, but now she’s off-world and in contact with aliens and experimenting.  
  
So she may goof up at times, however by being a average detective by Earth standards, she’s being nearly heroic by Alternian standards.

....  
  
Enter: Murderstuck

and things all go a little .... off....  
  
Gamzee usually doesn’t feel like he needs to conform to society’s standards to be ok. the standards that demand he be tough and ruthless as a highblood and enforce the rules of his society. Tbh, for the most part he doesn’t give less of a fuck. In part because his weird beliefs in the “mirthful messiahs” give him something else to follow. And also because drugs lol.  
  
But then he gets his faith (deliberately) shattered in really a pretty messed up way, combined with going through withdrawals, and having his friends chased down by a murderous demon. And right then doesn’t have anything to fall back on.... And then of all people Lil Cal enters. The mind-controlling doll himself. O shit. 

Because we all know the messiah is a pair of salty clowns no matter what planet you're on, but there's Gamzee's understanding of the messiah.... and then there's the Alternian Empire's understanding of them.

Honk Honk.

He begins to accept the old social role of his society, and re-enact those roles of the old Alternian social order…. “gimme that old time religion, it’s good enough for me” style….. a social order where why people do things doesn’t matter and people below him in blood caste need to be punished based on blood caste to enforce social order.  
  
And (using his chucklevoodos), along the way, to match with his corrupt judge, he recruits Terezi as his corrupt cop.   
  
He plants evidence and frames Vriska,.... Terezi has a justice based relationship with Vriska, but quickly this becomes not about what Vriska has done, but that she is a blood color lower than purple that Gamzee wants eliminated. If it was about what she had done there would'nt be any need to frame her for other crimes, the crimes she actually committed would be enough, that’s not how justice works.... But this is barely "justice" any more. Terezi finds the plant and takes the bait.

So now we have the ghostly form of the old troll society taking shape, emphasizing at least at the moment, most corrupt parts probably thanls to Lil Cal and Doc Scratch’s influences.  
  
Murderstuck is not just literally drenched in blood, but also metaphorically drenched in blood, the aspect of blood. The bonds and relationships between eachother, their ancestors, and society, as they struggle with and re-enact their ancestor’s paths.  
  
Which is one of doc scratch’s favorite weapons too, ugh.  
  
.... But Terezi in the end still manages to keep the sense that something is up. Even as darkness falls.

Terezi: the Detective of Mind


End file.
